Bruce P's World Travel Funs

What are you lookin' at?

Bruce P's World Travel Funs

What are you lookin' at?

I am fortunate enough to have a job where I get paid to travel, and it is my sincere desire to bore you with the details. Although I may occasionally rant about something or another, I am quite aware of the true value (or lack thereof) of my opinions, so I will generally keep them to myself. The only reason that I publish this rag is to disseminate pictures and stories from my travels in a (relatively) family-friendly way.Check out my big website:http://www.bpwtf.com

I am fortunate enough to have a job where I get paid to travel, and it is my sincere desire to bore you with the details. Although I may occasionally rant about something or another, I am quite aware of the true value (or lack thereof) of my opinions, so I will generally keep them to myself. The only reason that I publish this rag is to disseminate pictures and stories from my travels in a (relatively) family-friendly way.Check out my big website:http://www.bpwtf.com

Blue Skies in Yerevan

02/21/10 02:11

There is an old Soviet viewing platform on top of a hill overlooking Yerevan, and on a clear day you can see Mount Ararat behind the city from it. A rich Armenian-American donated a few hundred million to create a combined art gallery and staircase leading up to it. It is open, but still under constructionThe views from the top are pretty impressive, even on a cloudy dayI had not seen blue sky since leaving Washington, it had been especially dreary on the weekendsToday everything is reverting to gray again, but yesterday was a magnificent, warm, azure, spring-like day. I spent a lot of time outdoors, starting with the huge outdoor market, which is conveniently located right across Republic Square from our hotel.

Anything that can possibly be sold is thereIf you need auto parts, old radios, used books, tools, clothes, linens, tchotchkes, or antiques, this is the place to go. And they absolutely love Americans here. And the street food, especially the breads... Chomp!

I took my obligatory Metro rideThe escalators are just like in Moscow, incredibly steep and fast, and a dour old woman sitting in a booth at the bottom for some reason. You literally get thrown off of the escalator at the bottomI got off at a random stop and checked out the neighborhoodThen I went back and walked around downtown for a couple of hours.

I finally saw Mount Ararat, which is much more imposing than this picture suggestsThis picture was taken from my hotel balcony (while chatting on the phone with the Delightful Miss Janet). They told me that there was a good view from the balcony, but like I said, it had been gray and dreary up until yesterday. The mountain is about 15 miles away in Turkey, and Iran is another 5 miles or so beyond that.

Nothing like having beer and khinkali in a Georgian restaurant in Armenia listening to a guy belt out Soviet era folk songs about dyavuotchkas and old Lyeningrada and the VolgaWell, this is my last free day here, so I think I’m gonna head out and find some stuff to look at.